Linda, by Michael Davis – Straight No Chaser #110

March 27, 2009 Michael Davis 10 Comments

The Society Of Illustrators of Los Angeles (SILA) is having their annual show tomorrow. I really wanted to write about the show and the major MDW connection to the show. Tatiana is the show chair and she put the show together. Both Mike Gold and I were judges and MDW’s own Kevin McCarthy has won the very first Gold Medal in the Comic/ Graphic Novel category.

That’s a big deal. Shit, SILA having a Comic/ Graphic Novel category is a big deal. I had a half praise/half rant all ready to go about SILA but events happened since I started writing this that pushes SILA even further back on my ‘I could give a shit’ scale.

If any of you have read The Guardian Line’s Joe & Max a superbly written book by Jason Medley, Joe’s best friend in the series is Linda Myers. That Linda is based on my cousin, Linda Myers.

For anyone interested, everything I create always has elements of my family in it. Static’s mom was named Jean, my mom is named Jean. His dad was named Robert, my ‘Step Dad’ was named Robert. His sister’s name is Sharon, my sister’s name is Sharon. In Joe and Max, Joe’s mom is named Jean; his sister is named Sharon and so on.

I write what I know, I consider Joe and Max my adventures in Junior High and Static Shock my high school days. At least that’s the way I see it.

Below is the Guardian Line Bible entry I wrote for Linda:

Linda Myers

Linda is Joe’s best friend. She is 11 and in his class at P.S. 105. Linda and Joe became buddies because Linda’s family had cable. She likes that Joe is also into comics but she prefers anime (Japanese animation) and loves Barbie.  Linda still lives in the Red Gate Projects in Hell’s Gate. Joe visits her often. This is a problem since Max cannot go in Hell’s Gate without losing his powers for the duration of the time he spends there. Linda suspects something about Joe. She knows her friend is hiding something. She and Joe share a love of God and talk about Him often.  

In this case art did imitate life, although my cousin Linda did not have cable (no one did…duh) she did had what was the cable of the day, a color TV.  You have NO idea what a big deal that was back in the day. She did love Barbie and she did live in the projects. My family lived in another housing projects and we did visit often. In fact Linda and her mom, Marie were important to the care and feeding of your little MOTU.

Marie Myers

Marie Myers is Linda’s mom. She works at the Valentine Super Market in Rockaway Heights. Her shift is from 7am to 3pm so she is home in the afternoon. That works out well for Jean Davis who lets Joe hang out at her apartment until she gets home. That’s also just fine with Marie who loves Joe like her own. Marie’s joy in life is her only child Linda. She has toiled to give Linda whatever she wants this remarkably has not spoiled Linda in the least. Her faith is very strong.  

On the real, my mom would drop my sister and I off at Marie’s house on the weekends when she had to work or most days after school. Sharon (my sister) and Linda were the same age and for the most part they got along well.  That’s for the most part; sometimes they would fight like Axis and the Allies. Rather or not they were at each other’s throat I was always the enemy. As the ‘kid brother’ they would gang up on me relentlessly. The character of Marie is pretty spot on with regards to the ‘real’ Marie but there’s a description of Linda within Marie’s bio that bares an explanation. I loved my cousin Linda like a sister but unlike the above description Linda was a B R A T, with a capital B.

When Linda was young she wanted for nothing and that my friends is NO lean feat when you are poor and live in the projects. Marie was (and still is) my favorite aunt because she is just (and has always been) so cool. Yes Marie was cool but my beloved Linda was a world class brat, in fact I just created another character for a TV show I’m writing who’s based on Linda. This character is a real brat who is so spoiled that some people thinks she needs professional help…from a coroner.

That is a real brat and THAT, when she was young, was my cousin Linda, to a tee. Sometimes Linda would show me incredible acts of kindness, which frankly blew my mind. One Friday I was waiting for my stepfather to show up at Marie’s and take me to his house for the weekend. There was NO greater joy in my young life than hanging out with Robert. That’s what I called him. Dad? Ha-that was for white boys on TV who’s ‘Dad’ was fucking Robert Young. I lived in the real world my dad’s name was Robert and that’s what I called him. My every happiness when I was between 7 and 12 years old was waiting for Robert to pick me up for the weekend.

Sometimes he would show, most times he wouldn’t. On this particular Friday the moment I got to Marie’s apartment I made a bee-line to the window and began what would be an hours long vigil looking for Robert’s car. Nothing could tear me away from that window. As the daylight faded and the darkness brought with it the certainty that Robert would not show up my tears began to flow. Silently I kept looking out the window. I stayed in one position so long that my neck started to hurt. I couldn’t look away and let the entire household know I was crying.

Linda came over and talked to my back. Respecting my space she did not look in my tear stained eyes but she did place a penny in my hand. “Michael…”  She said. I knew this was something special because she NEVER called me Michael. If anything she would call me Mike (which I STILL HATE) or more often than not Sharon’s and hers choice of names for me was Stupid.

“Michael, if you have faith in this penny. Robert will come for you.” She said. She also said something about the power of faith and to believe in something bigger than yourself but all I remember clearly is the part about having faith in that penny and that would cause Robert to show. I closed my hand around that penny and waited.

When I opened my hand hours later Lincoln’s profile was embedded in my palm. A day later I could still see it.

Robert never showed. The next day Linda and Sharon took me to the movies and all was right with the world again.

When my sister died Linda and I were young adults and started to hang out together a bit. She became a world-class singer and actress and did a few Broadway plays. At one time she was headlining her own one woman show and received a good review from Rex Reed. She was doing so well in fact that she had an apartment on Central Park West. That’s rolling like a true baller.

Denys Cowan and I went to a party at Linda’s apartment and while there one of her friends hit on my date. So being the reserved young man I was, I tried my best to kick that motherfuckers ass. Before I could Linda stopped me and told me to leave the party. Clearly I was in the wrong, clearly I had over reacted. Linda told me to leave and Denys and I were about to book (that’s leave to the un-hip) when the guy who barely escaped a beat down said to my back; “Yeah get the fuck out ass-hole.” I turned around and looked at Linda, who shot me a look of ‘Do what you have to do.’ I walked over to the guy and said; “What did you say?” He started to repeat it but before he could finish I capped him in the chest and he fell to the floor.

He laid there looking up at Linda who said; “That’s my cousin.” She then walked away.

“That’s my cousin.”  I felt like a million bucks until I realized Linda still wanted me to leave.

Some time later I found out I had punched a big playwright.  Linda and I had a laugh about it over drinks some years later. “He sucked as a writer anyhow.” She said as she downed another apple martini. Me? Back then I was drinking only coke. Linda and I hung pretty tight before I moved to L.A. The first bar I went to was with Linda, my first Broadway play, my first off Broadway play my first circus, my first foreign movie, my first dance performance and so one.

Linda became my sister after my sister died. She would worry about me and my lack of friends. I’ve always been a loner and Linda always wanted me to make more friends.  Later on after a bad break up with a boyfriend she told me I had the right idea saying; “It’s not how many friends you have, it’s the kind of friends you have.”

Linda died from Cancer Tuesday morning in New York. I’m still in a bit of shock. The last two weeks have been one bad thing after another in my life. Linda dying is the worst of it but I’m still dealing with some other shit that I’ll keep to myself until…well until.

I can’t go to New York for the funeral I just can’t. That’s OK, unlike some families my family understands that distance means nothing. My love for Linda will be felt at the service and beyond.

Tatiana and Kevin, congratulations on the show guys. Linda wanted me to have good friends and she would have counted you two as the kind to have.